Please Stop Making Facebook Awkward!

I rarely write like this, but when something irks me enough, you can rest assured that I will get a few things off my chest. Moms, for the love of all things good in this world, please stop making Facebook AWKWARD! You know the feeling of watching an incredibly uncomfortable Facebook post going from bad to worse – it starts as a train wreck until the entire thing has just derailed, been blown out of proportion, leaving casualties all along its path. It is a lose-lose situation for everyone involved. Can’t we all just play along nicely in the sandbox that we call social media and stop throwing dirt just for the sake of stirring up sh!t! Please just STOP making Facebook awkward!

[bctt tweet=”Stop making #Facebook awkward. Let’s end the mommy-bullying and #MommyWars”]

Three ways to make Facebook awkward:

• Commenting on articles based solely on the headline or title – totally missing all humor and sarcasm!
  • As a blogger with a Facebook page, I see it time and time again. I share a blog post or article written by me or someone else. The headline or title is meant to tug at your heart strings and catch your attention.
  • Like THIS post I shared recently… It is a great example of a title that makes you go “WHAT?! I have to check this out!”… and then you click, read and realize that the article is written in the great languages of satire and sarcasm.
  • However, many of the “readers” (I use that term loosely) simply leave comments after thoroughly reading only the headline, getting their emotions riled up… and that’s when I had to say “uhhhhhh, did you READ the article!?”
  • So I beg of you, please read the articles you decide to comment on, otherwise you may just end up looking like, well like someone who didn’t read the article.
• Social Shaming! This is my biggest pet peeve and it is really nothing less than mommy-bullying at its finest.
  • Please STOP hiding behind your computer. Your keyboard and monitor are not secret weapons that make you mightier, bolder and cooler than in real life. They simply make you look like a troll, a bully – or down-right an ASS! Sorry, but there is no way to sugar-coat this one.
  • This week alone, I saw several fine examples of women calling strangers/ neighbors/ other women out for their poor choice in clothes, behavior or life style.
  • OK, someone cut you off in car line – AGAIN! I get it, it is rude, dangerous and obnoxious.
    • Feel free to report them to the authorities and the school. Hopefully they will address the issue with the parent.
    • You can approach the person and call them out on their narcissistic behavior. Perhaps they weren’t aware that all the cars waiting in that mile long line were going the exact same place.
    • You can even write a general post in a local Facebook group, asking everyone to be more careful during drop off and pick up, because I am sure there is more than just one parent who could use that reminder.
    • Wonderful – you did your civic duty and things will run smoother from now on. But do NOT post a picture of the offenders face, child, car, house or other personal/ identifying property.
    • WHY go there? What purpose does that serve, other than turning Facebook into a medieval town square where we burn the witches at the stake.
    • You did what you had to do to fix the problem by reporting it and addressing it – don’t make it worse by rallying the crazies behind you to ridicule and poke fun at someone else.
  • Public shaming isn’t fun, it’s not cool and it doesn’t solve ANY problems. It is nothing less than bullying, the exact kind of behavior we teach our kids to not engage in.
    • The rules of thumb ought to be, don’t post it on social media if:
      • you wouldn’t say it to her in person.
      • you wouldn’t want your kid reading your Facebook post.
      • you wouldn’t want your kid writing the same post.
• Vague posting/ Drama fishing!
  • I get that Facebook is like having an imaginary friend at your disposal 24/7. You can vent, laugh, cry with her any time of the day. Especially if your friend list is time-zone diversified, you will most likely find someone up at 3am to chat with – and that is exactly what social media is about – making connections. It is great to keep your friends from elementary school updated on the fancy dinner you had last night – totally cool.
  • But when the posts turn vague, aimed at nobody, or rather everybody at the same time, that’s when I get off the crazy-train. My heart breaks for the “nobody loves me” posts that go unnoticed.
  • My all time favorite: “This is it! He is gone and this time it’s for good!”. This post is from someone you know who has had marital problems for a while, so you and all her mommy friends jump all over it with the “You go girl. He was a scum bag anyway. You have been unhappy for SO long! You can do SO much better. I never liked his creepy smirky smile…”
    • Only to find out that she apparently was referring to the lizard that was living under her couch for three weeks – it finally escaped through the patio door. See how vague posting can become AWKWARD real quick!?!

So I beg of you, please put down the smart phone, tablet or any other electronic device… go out in your community and make real life friends. Have some face to face interaction with other humans and you will quickly realize that bullying, stirring up shit and creating drama really isn’t the only or the best way to get attention.

YOU are worthy of a real life friend. YOU can BE a real life friend. Let’s show each other some empathy, even the crazy lady in car line and stop the mom-bullying. YOU will be happier, your Facebook friends will be happier – and feel less awkward and you will set a great example for your children!

If you enjoy sarcasm and satire, please DO follow me on Facebook! We have lots of fun on the page, so don’t miss the party!

If you SHOULD be the victim of mommy-bullying, please let me know – I will be your friend! And then read my “Ten Things to Tell Your Kids About Bullying” – it applies to mommies too!